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I have been to Taipei twice now. I can’t remember why I didn’t check out any of the markets the first time we were there, I am guessing it was because of the rain, either that or we wanted to eat somewhere more ‘fancy’. Regardless the reason, this time, I was determined to check it out and Shilin was on the top of the list. It claims to be one of Taipei’s most famous hot spots and can be found in Shilin District of Taipei.

We came relatively late and the place was packed! Majority of the food stalls were packed, people queuing to get in but never fret, the turnover is quite quick and there are plenty of foods on offer. I was told that one must eat oyster omelette, stinky tofu, green onion cake, salty chicken, thick cuttle fish soup, potato chips, meat roll to name a few. Knowing how greedy I am, I wanted to eat EVREYTHING!

Stall 1: I wanted stinky tofu with Taiwanese Kimchi – yes, they are incredibly stinky but if you can go past the smell, the tofu are actually quite tasty! It’s deliciously silky and it’s hard to stop at just one!

The blood blocks soup is another favourite, definitely a favourite of mine!

Stall 2: I can’t for the life remember the name of this restaurant but it was busy when we rocked up – we waited a good 5 minutes before seated. They are famous for their oyster omelette. The oysters were fat and plump – it was a really good and tasty dish, I wasn’t a massive fan of the sauce though.

The soup – I think from memory they were chicken liver and they were good! It wasn’t a cold evening but it still went down nicely.

Stall 3: I wanted to try these sausages – wasn’t a massive fan.

Stall 4: for those who knows me, I love putu, which can be found in west Java. Putu is a type of round, steamed rice cake with a centre of melted palm sugar. Every time I go back to West Java I eat a ton of these, and my cousins make sure that they buy me heaps! I found something very close to it, however, instead of palm sugar it was with black sesame – and THEY WERE SCRUMPTIOUSLY GOOD! My only regret – NOT EATING MORE!

Stall 5: how can you say no to fried dumplings? Be careful when eating them, I definitely burnt my mouth!

Stall 6: fruits – I wanted something sweet, but thought I should be healthy and opt for fruits.

We didn’t eat all the above food in one seating, we ate, then walked for 20 mins and then sat down again for another meal and so forth. Walking helped burn the previous meal off and we certainly had fun shopping. Didn’t buy anything though – I am pretty sure that I spent most of my money on food in Taipei!

If you haven’t been to Shilin market, definitely worth it, you can get there by train or if you are lazy like us, taxi!